RWE said on Wednesday its capital expenditure was down by 1
billion euros ($1.27 billion) in the first nine months of 2012,
while the recent sale of assets, including its stake in British
nuclear joint venture Horizon, has gained momentum.

FRANKFURT, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Germany’s No.1 utility E.ON
warned of weakening power demand in Europe and
signalled it may have to close plants and step up saving efforts
after cutting its outlook for next year.

“In most European markets, the gross margin for gas-fired
units is approaching zero or is indeed already negative. One
factor is that the demand for electricity remains very low,”
Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen said on Tuesday after the
company published financial results.

FRANKFURT, Oct 29 (Reuters) – EU rules to toughen laws
against market abuses in gas and power trading are likely to
drive operators to exchanges and away from the bigger
over-the-counter markets (OTC), energy and financial consultancy
Baringa said on Monday.

“The intention of the new rules is to shrink the OTC market
and make it more transparent and accountable,” said Susanne
Funke, head of regulatory affairs at the consultancy, on the
sidelines of a conference.

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – Western Europe faces a potential electricity supply crisis this winter as France and Belgium struggle with their ageing reactors and after Germany took out a big chunk of its nuclear capacity.

Tight power supply may spark local blackouts in the event of a severe cold spell and could also trigger price spikes at a time industry, bruised by the economic slowdown, badly needs to save energy costs.

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – Western Europe faces a potential electricity supply crisis this winter as France and Belgium struggle with their ageing reactors and after Germany took out a big chunk of its nuclear capacity.

Tight power supply may spark local blackouts in the event of a severe cold spell and could also trigger price spikes at a time industry, bruised by the economic slowdown, badly needs to save energy costs.

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) – Russia’s No.2 gas producer
Novatek has signed a landmark deal to supply German
utility EnBW with gas, setting foot in the lucrative
European market, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters
on Friday.

The agreement will also allow Novatek to start forming its
customer base in Europe as it eyes liquefied natural gas sales
to the European Union from its Arctic plant, Yamal LNG, due on
stream in 2015-2016.

FRANKFURT, July 12 (Reuters) – Germany’s third-largest
utility EnBW said it had agreed a 10-year gas
procurement deal with a foreign supplier, giving it more
flexibility when it comes to deciding whether to store or sell
its gas depending on the market price.

The deal is for an annual volume of 21 billion kilowatt
hours (kWh), equivalent to 1.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) per
year, which is more than a third of its total gas sales and
enough to supply a huge industrial company, or a large number of
smaller players.

About Vera

"I report on German power and gas markets in liaison with a team of other specialists in European bureaus. I am based in Frankfurt and previously covered commodities out of Hamburg and London.
My aim is to identify market and industry trends and to produce high quality copy which is accessible to expert subscribers as well as to energy and business audiences, and to help
shape our energy products."